Portably water coolers and containers are well known in the art, and generally consist of a container having a lumen suitable for holding water and other liquid beverages. The container can also be made of insulating material to maintain a desired temperature of the water, and can be configured with handles in order to facilitate transportation of the cooler. The Hydroller™, made by Reliance Products, LP (see http://www.relianceproducts.com/), is an 8 gallon portable water container having wheels and a handle. The Hydroller™ and other similar water containers advantageously provide a convenient way to transport large amounts of water during various activities, such as sporting events, picnics, and camp outs.
Drinking water quality has become a significant concern among consumers due to an increased understanding of how health issues relate to harmful water contaminants, such as bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, minerals, and chlorine. The Hydroller™ and similar products do not provide a pump and filtration system for purifying water. A large portable water container with a built-in filtration system is of particular value since it can provide healthy portable water for events involving large groups of people.
Various configurations of water bottles with filters are known in the art. For example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0187183 to Nelson teaches a water bottle having a filter and a pump. The pump provides sufficient pressure to force water through the filter and out of the water bottle for drinking. While Nelson provides a convenient water bottle for delivering healthy water to a single individual, Nelson fails to provide a portable water-filtering container that can provide enough water for large groups of people.
This and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
International Patent Application Publication No. 2010/091920 to Naik teaches a portable hot beverage dispenser that street vendors can carry in a backpack. The dispenser has a pump that provides sufficient pressure to force a liquid through a filter and out of the dispenser. The dispenser also has a heating element for heating the liquid beverage. In this manner, a street vendor can sell hot beverages, such as coffee, made from clean filtered water. While Naik provides a useful portable dispenser for delivering filtered water beverages, the size of the dispenser in Naik is severely limited by the street vendor's strength and ability to carry the dispenser.
UK Patent Application No. GB2473256 to Pritchard discloses a 20 liter (5.28 US gallon) jerrycan with an internal brace configured to receive a wheel axle, allowing the container to be transported on wheels. The jerrycan also has an active carbon filter and a piston pump for forcing water through the filter and out of the tap. As such, Pritchard provides a portable water filter container for delivering significantly large amounts of filtered water. Unfortunately, the jerrycan in Pritchard is difficult to transport long distances due to the awkward manner a user must push or pull the container on wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,317 to Roppolo also discloses a portable water filter container. Roppolo discloses attaching a 20 gallon water container with an electric pump and filter. The container sits on a hand truck, thus allowing for easy manual transportation of the container over long distances. Unfortunately, the container in Roppolo includes a high part count number and is overly complex and bulky.
Thus, while portable water containers having filtration systems are generally known, the current state of the art fails to provide a portable filter container that can be easily transported long distances in order to provide large quantities of filtered water. It has yet to be appreciated that a portable filter container can be simple, light-weight, and easy to transport over long distances.
Thus, there is still a need for improved portable water containers and filtration systems for delivering large quantities of filtered water.